Integrated circuits are often cooled with the use of heat sinks. A heat sink having a high thermal conductivity is placed in contact with the integrated circuit and is shaped in such a way that heat is efficiently carried away from the integrated circuit. At the point of contact between the integrated circuit and the heat sink (or other intermediate points of contact such as between a lid and the integrated circuit or a lid and the heat sink), a thermal interface material is typically used to improve the ability to conduct heat. When applied, the thermal interface material flows into microscopic surface irregularities and acts as a better heat transfer agent than the air or other substance that would otherwise be present.
Thermal interface material is typically applied in patterns so that when two interface elements are pressed together, the thermal interface material compresses and spreads out to cover a desired amount of interface area. Interface areas typically have a nearly square aspect ratio and patterns for application of thermal interface material for such aspect ratios exist and are effective. However, for interface areas with a high aspect ratio (i.e., a larger ratio of length to width), current patterns are inefficient and/or do not cover a sufficient amount of area.